Might be worth an article. These things can be picked up for a sack of potatoes today.

These are an insane bargain. Then something breaks.

Why is my car suddenly an inch off the ground and bouncing off bumps like a civic with the springs cut? Oh the ABC malfunctioned at 45,000 miles, Oh it's known to happen on all these models, oh it's only 30% of the cars value to fix, awesome sign me up.
$#@!ing car was more of a piece of art then a functional auto.

Why is my car suddenly an inch off the ground and bouncing off bumps like a civic with the springs cut? Oh the ABC malfunctioned at 45,000 miles, Oh it's known to happen on all these models, oh it's only 30% of the cars value to fix, awesome sign me up.
$#@!ing car was more of a piece of art then a functional auto.

I'd just ditch the ABC and get coilovers. What I'd be worried about is the coil packs that apparently are a problem.
@Jake@Eurocharged.com

Why is my car suddenly an inch off the ground and bouncing off bumps like a civic with the springs cut? Oh the ABC malfunctioned at 45,000 miles, Oh it's known to happen on all these models, oh it's only 30% of the cars value to fix, awesome sign me up.
$#@!ing car was more of a piece of art then a functional auto.

Exactly.
You are still paying to repair a $200,000 even if it only cost you $35k to buy. Brake job alone is $4000 lol

I looked at SL65 AMG, CL600, CL AMG, SL600 and all the biturbo cars... they are literally giving them away for less than the engine value... but everyone told me around here NOT TO GO near them with a barge pole because your

ABC is actually not air at all, that's Airmatic. ABC uses hydraulics to move the piston in the shock. ABC struts actually have coil springs inside. However, the system runs at a pressure of thousands of PSI, the pump is a tandem unit with the power steering pump. There's also a valve block that basically sends/regulates all the fluid flow. Problems arose when earlier production struts started failing, usually due to seals that were inadequate. Valve block seals can also leak, and line leaks can occur. Pumps have gone out but that is less common. Also actually not that expensive of a part in and of itself compared to everything else. The parts can be expensive, however a lot of the cost comes from labor. Some people have successfully fixed systems themselves. The updated parts are much more reliable, and if you have a car from 05-06, you're mostly in the clear, especially 06 cars. W221/C216 cars and updated R130s seem to be fine too. ABC really is an amazing system, if you can keep it, it's highly effective. Basically allows for flat cornering and yet allows for a very comfortable ride, all while maintaining excellent body control.

If you are looking for an AMG performance bargain the 2005 W215 CL65 AMG with its monster twin turbo M275 V12 may be the ride for you

It's hard to believe it has been over a decade since Mercedes strapped turbos to its SOHC V12 creating the insanity that is the M275 engine. The idea seemed crazy at the time as the 5.5 liter M275 available in 600 models put out 493 horsepower and an earth moving 590 lb-ft. Mercedes AMG decided to give the entire automotive industry a huge middle finger and show who the king of power output truly was by taking that same motor and increasing displacement to 6.0 liters with more aggressive tuning and boost for 604 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque.

It was so much power and torque back in 2004 many wondered if AMG had gone too far. The cars featuring the engine (the S65, SL65, and CL65 AMG) were absurdly expensive. The other absurd part about these cars was their depreciation. The CL65 AMG depending on options was a $180,000+ car back then. Today, you can pick up a nice used example in the $30k range. The car was not an investment that is for sure.

What does this money get you? A twin turbo V12 luxury rocket with 528 horsepower and 674 lb-ft of torque to the wheels. A simple ECU tune will bring those numbers up into the low 600's to the wheels for horsepower and close to 800 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. A quality tune will run you a little over a grand.

If that is not a tuning value BenzBoost does not know what is. The only problem really is the maintenance as the coil packs tend to go out and there are well known issues with the ABC (Active Body Control). These issues can be solved with proper maintenance and parts.

Getting more out of the car beyond a tune becomes tricky due to the turbos being integrated into the manifolds. The K24 turbos on the motor are popular in the Porsche 911 Turbo world and easily modified but the problem is getting to them and removing them. Turbo upgrades therefore are expensive and there are not many successful upgrades out there.

Keep in mind the 'modern' M279 twin turbo V12 Mercedes sells is basically this exact same motor. Yes, this basic twin turbo architecture is providing over a decade of service. Why overpay for a new version of the same thing? Pocket the change and have an AMG monster for a fraction of the cost.

It's hard not to love 800 lb-ft at the wheels with a tune (tune by Eurocharged on a CL65):

Why is my car suddenly an inch off the ground and bouncing off bumps like a civic with the springs cut? Oh the ABC malfunctioned at 45,000 miles, Oh it's known to happen on all these models, oh it's only 30% of the cars value to fix, awesome sign me up.
$#@!ing car was more of a piece of art then a functional auto.

Well I have Road raced, yes I have time slips, dragged raced, have those slips posted too, and autocross her, took second place in my S600 and have NEVER had an ABC issue. Yes if you get a bad one your screwed, but for the one in a hundred that go bad, roll the dice.

PS: The ONLY part that I had to replace were the front rotors, go figure with what I have put her through with, LOL

Well I have Road raced, yes I have time slips, dragged raced, have those slips posted too, and autocross her, took second place in my S600 and have NEVER had an ABC issue. Yes if you get a bad one your screwed, but for the one in a hundred that go bad, roll the dice.

PS: The ONLY part that I had to replace were the front rotors, go figure with what I have put her through with, LOL

ABC is actually not air at all, that's Airmatic. ABC uses hydraulics to move the piston in the shock. ABC struts actually have coil springs inside. However, the system runs at a pressure of thousands of PSI, the pump is a tandem unit with the power steering pump. There's also a valve block that basically sends/regulates all the fluid flow. Problems arose when earlier production struts started failing, usually due to seals that were inadequate. Valve block seals can also leak, and line leaks can occur. Pumps have gone out but that is less common. Also actually not that expensive of a part in and of itself compared to everything else. The parts can be expensive, however a lot of the cost comes from labor. Some people have successfully fixed systems themselves. The updated parts are much more reliable, and if you have a car from 05-06, you're mostly in the clear, especially 06 cars. W221/C216 cars and updated R130s seem to be fine too. ABC really is an amazing system, if you can keep it, it's highly effective. Basically allows for flat cornering and yet allows for a very comfortable ride, all while maintaining excellent body control.

Ill add a little to this, usually its lack of maintaining and servicing the system that is its downfall. Usually the pump will $#@! itself, and if you dont catch it soon the metal shavings will either clog the filter in the tank or make their way through the ABC system...I had a few at the dealer where the pump had been bad for some time...I recommended they flush the system out to avoid damaging the shocks, but all they wanted to do was change the pump. So we did, and it was back every month after that for a valvebody, then each strut started failing (1100-2200 per strut) and then eventually the pump failed again because of the metal crap working its way though the system.

Its a great design, but in the end if the car was never maintained steer clear..

To my delight, it felt VERY good. The ABC does wonderfuly in the fact of NO body roll. Many friends were amazed that this boat just didn't roll over and play dead through the corners.

It really was a good day for my boat, LOL

PS: AS I don't have the TCU tune, I did have to keep slapping it down a gear around almost every corner.

That's pretty cool, always love to see people drive these things as intended...although maybe AMG engineers didn't envision AutoX as their intended use :p ABC definitely helps in that case, the utter lack of body roll is nice to have.

Ill add a little to this, usually its lack of maintaining and servicing the system that is its downfall. Usually the pump will $#@! itself, and if you dont catch it soon the metal shavings will either clog the filter in the tank or make their way through the ABC system...I had a few at the dealer where the pump had been bad for some time...I recommended they flush the system out to avoid damaging the shocks, but all they wanted to do was change the pump. So we did, and it was back every month after that for a valvebody, then each strut started failing (1100-2200 per strut) and then eventually the pump failed again because of the metal crap working its way though the system.

Its a great design, but in the end if the car was never maintained steer clear..

Great points, yeah if you don't flush the system when the pump goes bad you're asking for trouble. Amazing how many people decide to cheap out on that because somehow they think it won't happen to them. And then they end up replacing the whole system piece by piece for 12k or so when it starts to happen.